Moonbeam Levels – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Probably your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper, Daniel Dumile has had many aliases and alter egos in his career as an MC and producer. Zev Love X (with KMD), MF DOOM, Metal Face, Metal Fingers, Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah or just DOOM. Hip-hop has never known anyone like him.

An enigmatic figure with a mindblowing and often comedic command of language, DOOM was the monotone master of multisyllabic, internal rhymes and … how many entendres? To get on his overflowing stream of consciousness, a relentless train of thought, is to have a wildly unpredictable and edifying time whenever you press play.

A hive mind of books, comics, cartoons and so much more, he was the kind of writer who would reference anything from Benny Hill and Slobodan Milosevic to Eyjafjallajökull and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. And you wouldn’t put it past him to do it in the same track. A craftsman who had “more lyrics than the church got ‘Ooh Lords’”, he wanted to write verses so good you’d pass them on like a good book.

The way DOOM conjured theatricality and heightened the drama like a screenwriter/director, both on record and in person, was unprecedented. Turning a Gladiator-inspired mask into an emblem of realness and anti-heroism. A rebirth as the Supervillain, returning to exact revenge on a fickle industry full of shysters and posers.

He created a cast of characters to breathe life into and build a mythology around. Plucking samples anywhere from mushy 80’s RnB to Scooby-Doo and old kaiju films. “Plotting shows like robberies”, keeping fans guessing as to whether he would or would not turn up. Many of them gladly in on the caper, even if it was clear that his DOOM bot lacked a signature potbelly cultivated through many brews and other vices.

He was so elusive I had convinced myself I did NOT see him at this 2012 performance with The Robert Glasper Experiment at London’s Roundhouse. They played a beautiful version of my favourite track ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’, which dials up the melancholia and shows DOOM could ride anything. As he later proved with this mellow take on ‘Winter Blues’ accompanied by cello, musical saw and piano.

DOOM’s legend quickly spread beyond underground hip-hop circles thanks to an all-time classic collaboration with Madlib, appearances on Cartoon Networks’ Adult Swim, guest spots on records by the likes of Gorillaz and gushing praise from luminaries such as Thom Yorke, Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def) and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow.

But somehow, even in the age of broadband internet, DOOM managed to preserve his mystique. So much so that it took most of us two months to realise the British-born musician of Trinidadian and Zimbabwean heritage had passed away in a Leeds hospital at just 49.

December 2020 was a grim enough time already in lockdown. Then word quickly spread on New Year’s Eve that rap’s Metalfaced renegade had gone – on Halloween, would you believe it? Among those stunned and eager to know more was SH Fernando Jr (aka SKIZ), a long-time contributor to The Source, Wordsound founder and author of From The Streets of Shaolin: The Wu-Tang Saga.

Amazed that no one had attempted to document Dumile the artist’s life through his discography, particularly the origins and interconnectedness of his personae, SKIZ sprang into action. He spent three years developing The Chronicles of DOOM, conducting more than 50 interviews to examine his origin story and transformations.

The result is a carefully researched, respectful piece of journalism and an essential handbook for any fan. It’s impossible to fully unravel the mystery of “rap’s masked iconoclast”. That’s how the mischievous Supervillain moved, covert and in the shadows. But the author offers enough commentary and clues to raise our appreciation while thickening the plot.

SKIZ joins me from Baltimore for a Moonbeam Levels special. We spoke about what it takes to publish a project like this and how to tread carefully. DOOM’s widescreen imagination and how he laid breadcrumbs of esoterica in the lyrics. The complex morality of a Supervillain and the darkness that underpins his best work. Those underrated production skills and why he stands alone in hip-hop. A cult status that transcends genres and generations.

“I’m not here to tell you I’m the expert on Doom and that I know everything. I just wanted to put together his life in one place so you see what an interesting character he is and the trials and tribulations he had to go through. Maybe you can use DOOM as an example in your own life.”

If you’re on Facebook you can get book-related updates here.

VIKTOR VAUGHN – Change The Beat (live in NYC, 2004)

KMD – Hard Wit No Hoe [Elektra]KMD and the origin of DOOM

KMD – What A N*gga Know (remix featuring MF Grimm) [Fondle Em]

KING GEEDORAH – Fazers [Big Dada]

VIKTOR VAUGHN – Pop Snot [Get On Down]

MF DOOM – Go With The Flow/Gas Drawls (live at Scribble Jam 2003)

JJ DOOM – Winter Blues [Lex]

DABRYE – Air (featuring DOOM) [Ghostly International]

CZARFACE & MF DOOM – MF Czar [Silver Face]

MF DOOM – Who You Think I Am? [Metal Face Records]

SCIENZ OF LIFE – Yikes (featuring MF DOOM) [Sub Verse]

MF DOOM – Vomitspit [Metal Face Records]

MF DOOM – My Favourite Ladies [Nature Sounds]

MADVILLAIN – Rhinestone Cowboy [Stones Throw]The Story of Madvillainy

DANGERDOOM – ATHF [Lex]

J DILLA – Mash’s Revenge (featuring DOOM and Guilty Simpson) [Stones Throw]

– Adult Swim intermission –

DOOM – Doomsayer (produced by The Alchemist)

JJ DOOM – Guv’nor (BADBADNOTGOOD version) [Lex]

BADBADNOTGOOD & GHOSTFACE – Ray Gun (featuring DOOM) [Lex]

MF DOOM – All Outta Ale [Nature Sounds]

METAL FINGERS DOOM – Jasmin Blossoms [Metal Face]special-herbs.github.io

METAL FINGERS DOOM – Benzoin Gum [Nature Sounds]

MONSTA ISLAND CZARS – Mic Line [Metal Face] (‘Coriander’)

MOBB DEEP – Shook Ones Pt2 (MF DOOM Special Blend) (‘Saffron’)

GHOSTFACE & DOOM – Angels [Nature Sounds]

MF DOOM – Hey! [Metal Face Records]

MADVILLAIN –ALL CAPS [Stones Throw]Tap the links to explore the man’s music and legend. If you enjoy it, please share far and wide. This is DIY runnings. Word of mouth still holds great power and your support is like oxygen.

Drop any thoughts or memories in the comments below or write to me on Twitter/Instagram @amarofpatel.  

What is your favourite DOOM track, lyric, couplet or reference? Let’s show our appreciation.

Want deep and meaningful takes on arts and culture, plus occasional adventures in sound?

Compiled and blended by AmAr Patel

@amarofpatel

ANJA NGOZI – Sunnyside

LLOYD MILLER – Mello Cello [FountainAVM]

RAJI RAGS – Enchanté (featuring Raven Rush)

PREFUSE 73 – Onboard, Overboard [Lex]

SESSA – Gostar do Mundo (Demo) [Mexican Summer]

NX WORRIES – MoveOn [Stones Throw]

OHIO PLAYERS – Summertime [Charly]

LARHONDA LEGETTE – Thou Art With Me [Numero]

ANKANUM – Song of The Motherland [Native Rebel]

KEITH HUDSON – Be Good Dub [Week-End]

HOLY TONGUE MEETS SHACKLETON – The Merciful Lake [AD93]

SAM MORTON – Let’s Walk In The Night (featuring Alabaster DePlume) [Flesh N Blood]

BETH GIBBONS – Whispering Love [Domino] (Beth live @ Barbican)

COCTEAU TWINS – Seekers Who Are Lovers (EP Version) [Fontana]

FABIANA PALLADINO – In The Fire [Paul Institute]

QENDRESA – 2 Much

HEAVY – Do For You [Kindred Spirits]

YAYA BEY – Career Day [Big Dada]

SAMARA CYN – Green Eyes Freestyle

MATTHEWDAVID – Daydreamin

WU-LU – Blunted Strings [Warp]  

GOAT GIRL – Ride Around [Rough Trade]

KIM GORDON – BYE BYE [Matador]

FUMIO KARASHIMA – American Tango [180G]

VOICES OF BISHARA – The Journey (Live) [International Anthem]

SML – Search Bar Hi Hat [International Anthem]

FINN REES – Crossing [Mr Bongo]

QWALIA – Omega [Albert’s Favourites]

VEGYN – Mushroom Abolitionist [PLZ Make It Ruins]

LEON WARE AND MARCOS VALLE – Feels So Good [Far Out] (Leon and Marcos playlist)

KAYTRANADA – Spit It Out (featuring Rochelle Jordan) [RCA]

GHOST PHONE – Hotline

NAHI MITTI – Ayesha [Banoffees Pies]

2000 BLACK – London Boogie 7 [2000 Black]

ZG –Believe If You Can See [Pacific Rhythm]

SPECTER –The Birth [Sound Signature]

BEDOUIN ASCENT – Waves of What [Rising High]

ELKKA – Passionfruit (featuring John Carol Kirby [Ninja Tune]

MALIK HENDRICKS – Heavy [Eglo]

PRINCE – The Future (Remix) [Warner Bros]

NIKLAS WANDT – Uncorked [Púca]

SURYA SEN – In My Head (featuring Di-Vincent) [Loaded]

Eh up, people!

An expanded edition from London Town on a style and period of music that’s very close to my body and soul.

When most people think of 80’s music with synths and drum machines, the usual electro-pop suspects come to mind: Kraftwerk, Moroder, Depeche Mode, Human League, Gary Numan, maybe Patrick Cowley.

What we should be talking about is how black musicians quietly – ok, maybe not so quietly – revolutionised popular culture through their adventures in R&B from the 70s into the 80s. They could be smooth and sophisticated, but the tracks made you move.

Glasgow-based journalist Steven Vass has achieved something significant with his book Let The Music Play, plotting a course through those decades and tracing the evolution of these sounds through the constellation of artists who invented them.

The level of research is encyclopaedic yet he’s managed to keep it breezy, capturing the thrill of hearing these records for the first time – minds being blown, often on a weekly basis – as underground club culture broke into the mainstream.

I caught up with Steve a couple of months after this launch in Brixton to talk about: how he got into writing; reasons and reservations in doing the book; being inspired by Coming To America; giving flowers to Kashif and Paul Lawrence, Patrice Rushen, Cameo, Kleeer, Gwen Guthrie, Jam & Lewis and many more.

He also offers theories on what drew listeners and dancers to these synthesised sounds, why black artists weren’t given more credit as pioneers and the differences between the UK and US markets.

Expect a Questlove Supreme level of discourse, along with a big bag of that boogie-street-soul type of thing. A bit of house too, of course. You’ll feel it all.

Questions, comments or abuse to @amarofpatel

* HERBIE HANCOCK – Quasar (featuring Patrick Gleeson) [Warner]

* STEVIE WONDER – Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) [Tamla Motown]

* THE SPECIALS – Ghost Town (Extended Version) [Two-Tone]

* TOMORROW’S WORLD THEME TUNE (1982)

* DESMOND DEKKER – Reggae Recipe [Music For Pleasure]

* IMAGINATION – Just An Illusion (original 12” mix) [Unidisc]

* PRINCE – Raspberry Beret (New Mix) [NPG]

* GWEN GUTHRIE – Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent (Larry Levan 12” Club Mix) [Polydor]

* JOYCE SIMS – Come Into My Life (Extended Version) [London]

* FATBACK BAND – Is This The Future? [Spring]

* PATRICE RUSHEN – Kickin’ Back [Prestige]

* PATRICE RUSHEN – Forget Me Nots (12” version) [Elektra]

* NONA HENDRYX – Transformation [RCA]

* MELBA MOORE – Love’s Comin’ At Ya [EMI]

* KASHIF – The Mood [Arista]

* HANSON & DAVIS – I’ll Take You On (Dub Version) [Fresh]

* KLEEER – She Said She Loves Me [Atlantic]

* CAMEO – Single Life (Extended Version) [Casablanca]

* JUNIOR – Is This Love [Mercury]

* PRINCESS – Say I’m Your Number One [TELDEC]

* SHANNON – Let The Music Play [Emergency]

* JANET JACKSON – Nasty (Cool Summer Mix Part 1) [A&M]

* STEVE ‘SILK’ HURLEY – Jack Your Body (1986 Home Made Mix) [Underground]

PS Catch me broadcasting live at Horniman Museum in SE London on 15 June. A rare appearance in public as part of the Sister Midnight x Daytimers takeover.

Come through.

There may be guests. There will be 🔥

– click on each track to purchase –

IASOS – The Angels of Comfort [Numero]

LAUREL HALO – Belleville [Awe](Laurel Halo live at Jazz Cafe, London – 5 June)

SUN RA – Love in Outer Space (solo live @Haverford College, 1980)

BOJAN DROBEŽ – Krog Na Vodi [NTS]

GANAVYA – I walk again, eyes towards the Sky [Native Rebel Recordings]

ROLAND P YOUNG – Estimationism [EM Records]

SC SHARMA – Dance Music 1 [State 51 Conspiracy](Full story here)

MK.GEE – How Many Miles [R&R]

RAINY MILLER X SPACE AFRIKA – Maybe It’s Time to Tay Down the Arms [Fixed Abode]

JOHN GLACIER – Tripsteady [Young]

CORINNE BAILEY RAE – Earthlings [Black Rainbows Music](Corinne on the making of Black Rainbows and being inspired by Chicago’s Stony Island Arts Bank)

TRACY KERR – If U Need My Lovin (Instrumental Dub) [Isle of Jura]

DELASI – Learn From Adversity (featuring Lollise) [Brownswood]

X-CERTS – Untogether [Emotional Rescue]

HOLY TONGUE – Threshing Floor [Amidah Records](Valentina Magaletti with 99Chants live at ICA, London – 9 May)

GARY NUMAN – A Dream of Siam (featuring Pino Palladino) [Beggars Banquet](Pino Palladino on Questlove Supreme)

V/Z – Candles (Version) [AD 93]

BULLION – Rare (featuring Carly Rae Jepsen) [Ghostly]

MARIA RITA – Brasileira [Mr Bongo]

JAHARI MASSAMBA UNIT – Otis’ Tambourine [Law of Rhythm]

GRUPO IRAKERE – Juana 1600 [Mr Bongo]

AMARO FREITAS – Encantados (Psychic Hotline)

AMANDA WHITING – Liminal [First Word]

MARVIN GAYE – T Plays It Cool (Unedited Version) [Motown](Harmony Holiday’s meditation on another Trouble Man track, ‘Cleo’s Apartment’, is a must-read)

CAN – Oh Yeah [Spoon](One-time lead singer Damo Suzuki on being Damo Suzuki)

DAVID WERTMAN – Sunshine – [Finders Keepers]

AMY GADIAGA – Full Sun (해찬) [Jazz Re:freshed](Amy Gadiaga live on Jazz re:freshed weekly, 2022)

YOSHIKO SAI – Aoi Galasu Dama (Blue Glass Ball) [Time Capsule]

MARLENA SHAW – I’m Back For More [Columbia]

*Shockout Business interlude [Death Is Not the End]

KARIN JONES – Here I Go Again [Tidal Waves]

HAMID AL SHAERI – Dari Demou’ak [Habibi Funk]

MATERIAL – I’m The One (dance version) [Elektra](Plucked from Steven Vass’ Let The Music Play, which explores the impact of synths and drum machines on 70’s/80’s r&b. Special coming soon.)

*Pure Wicked Tune interlude [Death Is Not the End]

OJERIME – In The Know [Never Seven]

JAWNINO – 2trains

KELELA & LORAINE JAMES – Divorce (Loraine James Remix) [Warp]

KOKOROKO – We Give Thanks (KeiyaA mix) [Brownswood](KeiyaA live at The Lower Third – 8 May)

MILLSART – Transistor Love [Axis Records]

JULIAN D’ANGELO & SPECTER – Drunken Noodles [Visions Recordings]

LOST SOULS OF SATURN – LOST SOULS OF SATURN [R&S]

FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON – Across The Rivers [FSOLDigital]

NEW SECTOR MOVEMENTS – Stand (New Sector Bruk Flex featuring Mike City) [First Word]

HARUOMI HOSONO & YASUHIKO TERADA – Turquois [Rush Hour]

LORD OF THE ISLES – Ultraviolet [Adult Contemporary]

B-EDIT – Hold tight

BAS NOIR – My Love Is Magic [Nu Groove]

KERRI CHANDLER – Joykerri

Amp Fiddler – Grandma’s Radio (featuring Soundboy) [Ampliphonic] https://ampfiddler.bandcamp.com/album/amp-dog-knights?from=embedAmp Fiddler – Too High (live on the Ralph Armstrong Show 2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwwPx0usQKY

Amp Fiddler – Superficial (Amp’s Soul Special) [Camp Amp Studios]https://www.discogs.com/master/1173843-Amp-Fiddler-Rare-And-Unreleased

Amp Fiddler – Heaven [Strut]https://bleep.com/release/306801-amp-fiddler-afro-strut

Amp Fiddler – Eye to Eye [PIAS]https://www.discogs.com/release/226033-Amp-Fiddler-Waltz-Of-A-Ghetto-Fly

Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue – If I Don’t (featuring Amp Fiddler, Wendell Harrison, Bubz Fiddler live in Detroit, 2014)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUtCckTV5zc

The Detroit Experiment – Midnight At The Twenty Grand (featuring Amp Fiddler) [Planet E]https://www.discogs.com/master/133279-The-Detroit-Experiment-The-Detroit-Experiment

Amp Fiddler – (Your Love Is Like) Dope [Genuine]https://www.discogs.com/release/688060-Amp-Fiddler-Hope-Dope

Amp Fiddler – Through Your Soul (featuring Bubz Fiddler & J Dilla) [Ampliphonic]https://ampfiddler.bandcamp.com/track/through-your-soul-feat-bubz-fiddler-j-dilla?from=embed

Amp Fiddler – I Believe in You (Jaylib Remix) [Genuine]   https://www.discogs.com/release/261990-Amp-Fiddler-I-Believe-In-You

Amp Fiddler with Sly & Robbie – Black House (Paint The White House Black) [Strut]https://ampfiddler.bandcamp.com/album/inspiration-information?from=embed

Will Sessions & Amp Fiddler with Dames Brown – Reconcile [Sessions Sounds]https://willsessions.bandcamp.com/album/the-one?from=embed

Meshell Ndegeocello – ASR (co-written with Amp Fiddler) [Blue Note]https://store.bluenote.com/products/meshell-ndegeocello-the-omnichord-real-book

Amp Fiddler – Afro Butt (featuring Tony Allen) [Camp Amp Studios]https://www.discogs.com/master/1173843-Amp-Fiddler-Rare-And-Unreleased

Amp Fiddler – Love & War (Version) [Genuine]https://www.discogs.com/release/145601-Amp-Fiddler-Love-And-War-EP 

Moodyman with Amp Dog Knight – I’m Doing Fine (Main Mix) [Mahogani Music]https://ampfiddler.bandcamp.com/album/im-doing-fine?from=embed

Moodyman – People (featuring Amp Fiddler) [Peacefrog]https://peacefrog.bandcamp.com/album/silence-in-the-secret-garden-album?from=embed

Amp Fiddler – Superficial (JAN mix) [Genuine]https://www.discogs.com/release/48172-Amp-Fiddler-Basementality

Amp Dog Knights – Over U [Mahogani]https://ampfiddler.bandcamp.com/track/over-u?from=embed

Moody – It’s 2 Late 4 U And Me (featuring Amp Fiddler) [KDJ]https://www.discogs.com/master/256766-Moody-Ol-Dirty-Vinyl

Three Chairs – Midday Blues at Midnight [Three Chairs]https://rickwilhite.bandcamp.com/track/midday-blues-at-midnight?from=embed

Theo Parrish – Gentrified Love Part 1 (instrumental featuring Amp Fiddler and Alena Waters) [Sound Signature]https://boomkat.com/products/gentrified-love-part-1

Theo Parrish – Trust (with Amp Fiddler and Ideeyah) [Sound Signature]https://www.discogs.com/release/10047978-Theo-Parrish-Amp-Fiddler-Gentrified-Love-Part-3

Amp Fiddler – Energy (Waajeed’s Doughboy Mix) [Ampliphonic] https://ampfiddler.bandcamp.com/album/basementality-3?from=embed

Ski Oakenfull – Let Me Be (featuring Amp Fiddler) [BBE]https://bbemusic.com/product/rising-son

Glenn Underground – Mornin (GU Nostalgia Forever Mix) https://www.discogs.com/release/6079787-Glenn-Underground-GU-Edits-1

Only Child – U Bring Me Vibes (featuring Amp Fiddler) [Grand Central]https://www.discogs.com/release/165690-Only-Child-U-Bring-Me-Vibes

Funkadelic – Let’s Take It To The Stage (Amp Fiddler Laughin @Ya Mix) [Westbound] https://www.juno.co.uk/products/funkadelic-reworked-by-detroiters-vinyl/663433-01/

George Clinton – Do Fries Go With That Shake (12” featuring Amp Fiddler) [Stateside]https://www.discogs.com/release/1357779-George-Clinton-Extended-Pleasure-12-Extended-Versions-And-Mixes

Was Not Was – Out Come The Freaks (featuring Amp Fiddler) https://www.discogs.com/release/1616346-Was-Not-Was-What-Up-Dog

George Clinton – There I Go Again (co-written by Joseph Fiddler) [Paisley Park]https://www.discogs.com/release/170148-George-Clinton-The-Cinderella-Theory

Maxwell – Sumthin’ Sumthin’ (Mantra Uncut) [Columbia]https://www.discogs.com/release/541600-Maxwell-Sumthin-Sumthin-The-Mantra

Mr Fiddler – Cool About It [Elektra]https://www.discogs.com/master/804072-Mr-Fiddler-With-Respect

Sundown – Spaced Outta Place Pt 2 [Sound Signature]https://bleep.com/release/391341-sundown-spaced-outta-place

The Unit – Ain’t No Need (Edit) (featuring Amp Fiddler) [Sound Signature]https://www.discogs.com/release/18998623-Theo-Parrish-Special-Versions

Moonbeam Levels 012 – November 2023Compiled and blended by AmAr Patel

@amarofpatelwww.imakesense.org

ANDRÉ 3000 – I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A "Rap" Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time [Epic]

https://shop.amyriadofpyramids.com/https://tinyurl.com/andre3000-finds-himself

CARLOS NINO & FRIENDS – Boom Bap Spiritual (featuring Surya Botofasina) [International Anthem]https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/im-just-chillin-on-fire

ROSIE TURTON – Wandering Wonderinghttps://rosieturton.bandcamp.com/album/wandering-wondering

DANIEL VILLARREAL – Things Can Be Calm (featuring Jeff Parker & Anna Butterss) [International Anthem]https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/lados-b

DURUTTI COLUMN – Twenty Trees [London Music Stream]https://tinyurl.com/3bx2wbsfhttps://tinyurl.com/vini-reilly-guardian-interview

APPENDIX – Autumn Song [Mad About]https://tinyurl.com/mthpmpw2

GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA & BROOKLYN RAGA MASSIVE – Turiya [Meta]https://tinyurl.com/yc7vu738

MIGUEL ATWOOD-FERGUSON –Tzedakah [Brainfeeder]https://tinyurl.com/du529updhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001s2pv

KOFI FLEXXX – Increase Awareness (featuring ganavya) [Native Rebel]https://kofiflexxx.bandcamp.com/album/flowers-in-the-dark

MO KOLOURS – Tatamaka Pt 2https://mokolours.bandcamp.com/track/tatamaka-pt-2

LONNIE HOLLEY – Better Get That Crop in Soon [Jagjaguar]

https://lonnieholley.bandcamp.com/album/oh-me-oh-my

MONZANTO SOUND – Eja (Dave Okumu remix) [None More]https://monzantosound.bandcamp.com/album/tt-t-remixed

ELIZA – A Tear for the Dreadful (Live at RAK) [Different Recordings]https://eliza.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-rak

JAYE P MORGAN – Can’t Hide Love [Wewantsounds]https://jayepmorgan.bandcamp.com/album/jaye-p-morgan

ACTRESS – Its Me (g 8) [Ninja Tune]https://actress.bandcamp.com/album/lxxxviii

KNXWLEDGE – itstartshttps://knxwledge.bandcamp.com/album/vgm-29

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE – Remember Who You Are [Warner Bros]https://tinyurl.com/sadynj8dhttps://tinyurl.com/sly-interview

YUSSEF DAYES – Rust (featuring Tom Misch) [Brownswood]https://yussefdayes.bandcamp.com/album/black-classical-music

CASISDEAD – Marilyn (featuring Connie Constance) [XL]https://casisdead.bandcamp.com/album/famous-last-wordshttps://tinyurl.com/casisdead-the-face

PAYFONE & KYD NEREIDA – I Feel You (Mudd Remix) [Leng]https://tinyurl.com/5yrhmku6

APHEX TWIN – Acrid Avid Jam Shred [Warp]https://aphextwin.bandcamp.com/album/i-care-because-you-do

RAINY MILLER X SPACE AFRIKA – It’s Time To Lay Down The Arms (featuring Mica Levi) [Fixed Abode]https://rainymiller.bandcamp.com/album/a-grisaille-wedding-2

TIRZAH – No Limit [Domino]https://tirzah.bandcamp.com/album/trip9love

HOLE IN ONE – Spiritual Ideas For Virtual Reality [Amazing]https://amazing-ams.bandcamp.com/track/spiritual-ideas-for-virtual-reality

MK/MM – Zu zweit durch die Alleen [Trilogy Tapes]https://thetrilogytapes.bandcamp.com/album/ich-sehe-vasen

THEO PARRISH & MAURISSA ROSE – I’m Done [Sound Signature]https://boomkat.com/products/free-myself-39076485-c6da-4040-8065-1dd9a3177993https://tinyurl.com/theo-on-nts-maurissa

LASEECH FEATURING DESNAY BAILEY – Hey Love (Patrice Scott Remix) [Forbidden Dance]https://tinyurl.com/mr3rbza2

PEVEN EVERETT & DEETRON – Evermore [Character]https://www.traxsource.com/title/2106613/evermore

DIGITAL JUSTICE – Theme From ‘It’s All Gone Pearshaped’ [Melodies International]https://boomkat.com/products/melodies-record-club-003-hunee-selects

DREXCIYA – Hightech Nomads [Clone]https://cloneaqualungseries.bandcamp.com/album/grava-4

HOLLIS P MONROE – I’m Lonely (DJ Decent Acid Mix) [Groovin]https://tinyurl.com/bdz2yac7

DJ RASHAD – Let U No (featuring DJ Spinn) [Partisan]https://partisanrecords.com/moment/dj-rashadhttps://bleep.com/dj-rashad--double-cup-partisan-records

L’RAIN – New Year’s UnResolution [Mexican Summer]https://lrain.bandcamp.com/album/i-killed-your-doghttps://tinyurl.com/lrain-pitchfork 

Season’s greetings!

As I was climbing a mountain in Wales last weekend with my doggie (more on that soon), I had to miss studio day at Sister Midnight FM. Short of time and eager to offer something to counter the winter chill, I thought, why not release volume five of Singers, Songs & Strings?

This is a series I started in 2010 to celebrate the bare beauty and sacred mystery of songwriting. Mostly acoustic but not always. Sometimes instrumental and occasionally veering into the electronic and ambient ether.

Lots of names you will recognise here, including Jeff Buckley, PJ Harvey, Can and Sinead O’Connor. But I have also folded in some more obscure moments from the likes of Cy Timmons, Skip Prokop and Hako Yamasaki. All braided together into that signature ML odyssey.

Something high-tuft for you to stretch out on. I hope it’s good to you and at least one of these tunes induces a sweet little reverie.

Round and round the burning circleAll the seasons, one, two and threeAutumn comes and then the WinterSpring is born and wanders free’Milk & Honey’ – Jackson C Frank

The mathematicians among you will note that there should be four other volumes before this. If you would like them, let me know in the comments or DM me at [at] amarofpatel on IG.

Back in January with a more ancient-to-future selection, but you can expect a dispatch before then.

Stay close,

Amar

***

DAVID HORRIDGE – At First Sight [Smiling C]

DOROTHY CARTER – Along The River [Palto Flats]

CY TIMMONS – Nowhere [Erewhon Music]

MARIA RITA – Canção De Garoa [Mr Bongo]

JEFF BUCKLEY – Opened Once [Columbia]

HAKO YAMASAKI – Komori Uta [WRWTFWW]

MARC RIBOT – Sobo (composed by Frantz Casseus) [Knockwurst]

LINDA PERHACS – Parallelograms [Kapp]

ANDRE GIBSON & UNIVERSAL TOGETHERNESS BAND – Valentine Lover [Numero]

LINDA LEWIS – It’s A Frame [Reprise]

SKIP PROKOP – Blue Boy [NTS]

JUST US – Just A Thought

CHARLIE MEGIRA – Smile Now, Cry Later [Numero]

CAN – She Brings The Rain [Spoon]

ULTRA VIOLET – How Do You Do (Children Of The Most High) [Light in the Attic]

BO HARWOOD & JOHN CASSAVETES – No One Around To Hear It [Efficient Space]

THE REPLACEMENTS – Sadly Beautiful [Sire]

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL – My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains [Blanco y Negro]

DEAN BLUNT – Woosah [Rough Trade]

THE ROCHES – Hammond Song (featuring Robert Fripp) [Warner]

SINEAD O’CONNOR – Black Boys On Mopeds [Chrysalis]

PJ HARVEY – Beautiful Feeling (Peel Session 2000)

RY COODER – Houston in Two Seconds [Warner]

NICK HAKIM – Needy Bees (live on NPR Tiny Desk)

EDDIE FLOYD – I Will Always Have Faith In You [Stax]

JACKSON C FRANK – Milk & Honey [Antarctica Starts Here]

GUNS N ROSES – Patience [Geffen]

FRED NEILL – Faretheewell (Fred’s Tune) [Capitol]

KAREN DALTON – Are You Leaving For The Country [LITA]

FAIRPORT CONVENTION – Who Knows Where The Time Goes [Woodworm]

LOU REED – Coney Island Baby [RCA Victor]

Last Tuesday was heavy. Already in the quicksand of loss, I had a very physical response to the news that D’Angelo had left us. I stood in the kitchen for almost half an hour, winded, pacing around… Freshly chopped onions and garlic left to dry out as a chilling air suddenly enveloped the night and swiped my appetite.

This wasn’t some melodramatic reaction to the end of a parasocial relationship. This is a man I have admired, studied, grown with (and through) over more than a quarter of a century. I was once told that things made with heart will reach the heart, which is to say that communion of that magnitude forms a significant bond that is worth grieving.

I’ve bought the albums, made the T-shirt, cut out the magazine pages and put them on the wall, sung his words everywhere from Brixton Academy to my bathroom. It was fandom in full effect. Devotion.

I still remember my first track. It was ‘Me & Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine’ on a Kiss Smooth Grooves double cassette compilation in 1996. Back then, I was in thrall to the bump and swing of RnB. The voice was immaculate, even to my novice ears, but it was all a bit too smooth and refined for me up against a Tony! Toni! Toné! ‘Let’s Get Down’ or Brownstone’s ‘If You Love Me’.

If I had bothered to check the album, I would have discovered a subtle edge to the man’s music, melded with the raw essence of soul that stood out amid all the polish and posturing of the day. Ok, ‘Sh*t, Damn, Motherf*cker’ ain’t so subtle. D talkin’ about gettin’ his nine… “I weren’t no choir boy,” he would later tell us.

A few years later, my uni mate Helen (aka Babs) handed me Brown Sugar. Digging in the crates by then and following the many tributaries of hip-hop that reached back to the ancestors – producers reimagining them for a new age – I was ready to receive it.

The one-time MC was a child of hip-hop, among other things, lest we forget. And he carried that musicologist’s curiosity throughout his career, always striving to connect the dots. He could trace the funk back to Otis Redding, see Sly Stone as “Ray Charles on acid”, sense rock god Jimi Hendrix was a blues man at heart and hear The Meters in Marley Marl.

At his audition for Jocelyn Cooper’s Midnight Songs publishing company, D’Angelo performed a Jodeci track, a gospel song and something by Miles Davis. He was 17 at the time. Trawl back far enough in his life and it all begins to make sense. D may have come from the church and gospel on the south side of Richmond, Virginia, but his musical ambitions lay on the frontier. At one point, he wanted to become a concert pianist.

By the end of the 90s, I wasn’t just listening to albums … I was analysing them, ‘training’ to become a music journalist and trying to encapsulate how these sounds made me feel. The soul boy within had progressed from popular releases to lesser-appreciated ones. Let’s say a Here, My Dear after Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, or a Fulfillingness’ First Finale after Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. Ahead-of-their-time masterpieces were also in the mix, including There’s A Riot Goin’ On and Band of Gypsys.

The Godfather stoked my urge for funk and a syncopated groove, an instinct fully surrendered to years after first shakin’ my moneymaker to this Sony ad. When I wore a T-shirt with the iconic label “A James Brown Production”, I meant it. Some days, I would holla or just scream in his inimitable way, just to connect to that energy where I felt so alive, uninhibited and in the moment.

He led me to Prince, who burst out of the shadows of Michael Jackson – in my mind, anyway – as I began to appreciate musicianship, arrangement and synthesis more. A friend and I would scour the net for live performances, like this one from the Parade tour or this bizarre encounter that wasn’t so easy to find before social media. Or vintage Stevie taking studio recordings someplace else.

I wasn’t the only one studying. Stories of the making of D’s magnum opus Voodoo are beyond fable at this point. How he, co-pilot Questlove and others would spend weeks on end in the late 90s watching tapes of their “yodas” in action, soaking up black genius before jamming through the night at Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios. A bandcamp-cum-academy environment that produced more than 70 hours of music most of us have never heard.

That one I was not ready for back in 2000. Its murkiness, shifting states and the opacity of the vocals threw me off. But I was beckoned by Voodoo’s ritualistic opening and how ‘Playa Playa’ combined Roy Hargrove’s sweet horn arrangements with the gritty groove laid down by Pino Palladino and Questlove.

I could feel James in ‘Chicken Grease’, with its nod to Black Caesar in the ad libs, and went nuts for Voodoo’s audacious outlier ‘Spanish Joint’ from first play. The uncompromising commitment to his craft and aesthetic was compelling.

D set out to seek what his heroes sought. To allow himself to be a conduit for the spirits of the past. The recording of that album was like a three-year seance. Speaking to Vibe around the release, he cast off any concerns about sophomore jinx, instead plotting a path way into the future with the tools handed down to him.

“The way he [Sam Cooke] would do his vocals, with his musicians all playing major chords … And he would just come out of nowhere in this minor key — it’s hard to put in words the effect that has on you – the chills. It’s just evolutionary… I want to be free like that.”

Here’s the thing about D’Angelo and why his loss feels so devastating. He didn’t settle for emulating the sound of the masters. His inspirations were launchpads. How many of us could hear Hendrix in ‘The Root’?

From day one, his integrity was sky-high. The intention was to make art. For the son and grandson of Pentecostal preachers, catching the spirit and moving people were birthright and vocation – from the pulpit side to the stage. Just listen to ‘One Mo Gin’ live in LA from 2000. Image was secondary.

In that Vibe article, the writer Dream Hampton recalls D holding her hand throughout a two-hour conversation and says, “He hears what you’re saying, but what he really wants to do is feel you.” He loved giving guys a pound every 20 or 30 seconds, as DJ Premier told her. The Alchemist recently shared a hilarious weed story about that.

After spending so long in the past, I was looking around for someone to step up – to take it there. He was the one. D wanted to find his own conception of black music: sensual, spiritual, dynamic, liberating. To f*ck with time and texture, forming rhythms and intonations only he could imbue. To fuse the technical ingenuity of those early 70’s soul masterpieces with the ecstatic fervour and spectacle of a Prince, p-funk or Fela Kuti stage show.

He was willing to shoulder the responsibility of leadership and open himself up to scrutiny, not least through his own eyes. A God-fearing young man who dared to step out of his comfort zone behind the keys and transform himself into this carnal effigy onstage, if it could serve the music. But knowing how all that adulation and power had corrupted forbears such as Marvin Gaye.

Risking possession by dark spirits that threatened to render him a false idol, torment and consume him. Speaking to GQ in 2014, D said, “There are forces going on that I don’t think a lot of motherf*ckers who make music today are aware of. The stage is our pulpit, and you can use all of that energy and that music and the lights and the colours and the sound. But you know, you’ve got to be careful.”

Psalm 23:4 was D’s “creed”. tattooed on his left arm. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” In the end, his faith saw him through, which is why ‘Prayer’ from Black Messiah is one of the artist’s greatest personal triumphs.

I know that you will make it to the promised land, ohBut you gotta pray, you gotta prayOh, you gotta pray for redemption, LordLord, keep me away from temptationDeliver us from evil, oh yeahAnd all this confusion around meGive me peaceI believe in love

The mark of a great artist, to my mind, is someone who commits to growth, unwavering in the face of public expectation and industry demands. As they learn, we learn with them. And so it was with D’Angelo. His exquisite taste in covers led me to Parliament Funkadelic, Ohio Players, Curtis Mayfield deep cuts and gospel acts such as The Hawkins and The Pilgrim Jubilees. He would sprinkle source code into intros and interludes at shows.

Speaking to writer Nelson George in one interview before Black Messiah dropped almost 15 years after Voodoo, he vowed to carry the torch and teach the youth. Who talks like that nowadays? Who is willing to wait, no matter how frustrated their fans become?”

Who is willing to flout convention, the call for relentless consumption and instant gratification, to go away and tussle with that art until to takes the form it needs to, no matter how slow or arduous the process? To risk being ridiculed, forgotten or, worse still, hurt?

Looking around, there is a distinct lack of musicians who seem willing or able to transcend their influences. Industry forces may be a big factor in the restless urge for visibility and productivity over patient craft and wilful withdrawal. But standing for something and having a higher purpose are still critical. If that’s you, we need you now.

Oops. So much for writing a short covering note 🤦🏽‍♂️ I took my time, as I did with this show, in the spirit of D.

So over the next four hours, I am going to present the many dimensions of a remarkable artist. It will be more thematic than chronological. Travelling back and forth feels appropriate for a star so in their own orbit.

There will be demos, outtakes, covers, key studio recordings, lots of live renditions (where he did some of his greatest work) and revelations along the way. Dedicated to his family, close friends and collaborators.

This is how and why D’Angelo took it there 🙏🏾 🕊️ 🖤

THE SOULTRONICS – Fall N Love (Live in LA, 2000)

D’ANGELO – Africa [demo]

– D on growing up in Richmond and church beginnings –

– D does The Violinaires’ ‘The Upper Way’ –

– D on learning to let the spirit come through you –

D’ANGELO, RAPHAEL SAADIQ, ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMED, SPANKY ALFORD & QUESTLOVE – Lady (Fire outro live on Chris Rock Show, 1997)

D’ANGELO & THE SOUL DISCIPLES – Don’t Let Jesus Down

– D on grandmother Alberta’s encouragement –

D’ANGELO – Alright [EMI]

ANGIE STONE – Everyday [Arista]

– On hip-hop being the nucleus and why love is gangsta –

D’ANGELO – Lady (DJ Premier Remix featuring AZ) [EMI]

COMMON – Ghetto Heaven (featuring D’Angelo) [MCA]

GZA – Cold World featuring D’Angelo (Rza Mix)[Geffen]

THE ROOTS – The Notic (featuring D’Angelo & Erykah Badu) [Dysfunctional Youth]

– Questlove on ‘auditioning’ for D @ The Soul Train Awards in 1996 –

– D on the funk and James Brown the foundation –

D’ANGELO, QUESTLOVE & CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE – Funky Drummer (Voodoo Outtakes)

D’ANGELO – Ghetto Music (Voodoo Outtakes featuring Q-Tip)

D’ANGELO – Instrumental 5 (Voodoo outtakes)

– D on being influenced by Prince’s influences –

D’ANGELO – Playa Playa [Virgin]

– Voodoo promo –

D’ANGELO – The Root [Virgin]

D’ANGELO – Chicken Grease [Virgin]

– D on playing live and being free –

D’ANGELO & THE SOULTRONICS – Feel Like Makin Love (live in Stockholm, 2000)

D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Ain’t That Easy / Vanguard Theme (live at North Sea Jazz Festival 2015)

D’ANGELO – Can’t Hide Love (live at the Jazz Café, London, 1995) [EMI]

D’ANGELO & QUESTLOVE – Woman’s Gotta Have It / The Line (live at Brooklyn Bowl, 2013)

D’ANGELO – Sh*t, Damn, Motherfu*ker (live in Stockholm, 2000)

– D on ‘Devil’s Pie and the cotton fields –

D’ANGELO & THE SOULTRONICS – Devil’s Pie (live in Stockholm, 2000)

– D on the blues thread –

D’ANGELO – 1000 Deaths (demo)

D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – I’ve Been Watching You (live at Zenith Paris, 2012)

RH FACTOR – I’ll Stay [Verve]

– Soul Mate interlude –

RAPHAEL SAADIQ – Be Here (featuring D’Angelo) [Universal]

­– D on falsetto –

D’ANGELO & PRINCESS – Sometimes It Snows in April (live on Tonight with Jimmy Fallon)

D’ANGELO – I’m So Glad You’re Mine/Lady (live at Jazz Café, London, 1995) [Virgin]

D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Really Love (live at North Sea Jazz Festival 2015)

D’ANGELO & THE SOULTRONICS – One Mo Gin (live in LA, 2000)

– D makes “black music”

RED HOT & RIOT – Water No Get Enemy (featuring D’Angelo) [Red Hot Organization]

D’ANGELO – Spanish Joint [Virgin]

– D on his cave and being a one-take dude

D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Prayer [RCA]

– D on religion vs God –

D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Another Life [RCA]

– D on music as a calling –

D’ANGELO – Untitled (piano version live at North Sea Jazz Festival, 2012)

J DILLA – So Far To Go (featuring Common & D’Angelo) [BBE]

D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Welcome to the Show (live on Liberation Tour 2012 in Washington) (background)

BLACK MEN UNITED – U Will Know [Mercury]

***

Source material / Course Material

RBMA lecture in 2014

Interview with Nelson George on the funk

Interview with Tavis Smiley in 2015

George Whipple interview in 2000

Devil’s Pie documentary directed by Carine Bijlsma

Voodoo EPK

Questlove’s Okayplayer notes on the making of Voodoo (early 2000s)

Author Touré has a great story about baby D’s prodigious talent”D’Angelo’s older brother Luther told me that when he was 10 and Michael (D’Angelo) was 3, Luther came home to find Michael at the piano in their house playing a real song…”

Saul Williams, who wrote the liner notes for Voodoo, spotlights the late musician’s love of language”D had a sense that poets were haunted the same way he was, by spirits and voices. These were not frightening visitations, rather it was a way of communing multidimensionally.”

Tour manager Alan ‘Pops’ Leeds on D’s artistic integrity and always staying true to his roots”Against the grain of bland modern R&B, D’Angelo preserved the Gospel essence of early soul music, mixing it with every other genre of Black music without ever leaving the church. I don’t care what the lyrics said, I don’t care what the song was about, I ALWAYS heard the church in there. He couldn’t help it.”

Lauryn Hill, with whom D sang ‘Nothing Even Matters’, explains how he broke new ground as a Black male“Thank you for charting the course and for making space during a time when no similar space really existed. You imaged [sic] a unity of strength and sensitivity in Black manhood to a generation that only saw itself as having to be one or the other.”

Inspiration George Clinton quickly gets to the essence of D’s brilliance”He didn’t just make music — he channeled the ancestors, he bent time, and he put that soul on wax like nobody else.”

Hanif Abdurraqib on D’s appreciation of lineage and why art as salvation is not owed to anyone until it’s complete.”I fear for how far people have strayed from deep, thoughtful, curious and joyful engagement with art and become people who simply consume a product and then move to the next product, and I fear for this because at that rate of consumption, the person isn’t even an extension of the person who made it anymore, the person is the product.”

ayan artan on the cost of nonchalance and what it takes to produce work worth loving “i had elders who sung love songs for girls like me, and writers who made me the centre even before i had the confidence to insist on it myself. who of this generation can i point to that would make my baby cousin feel the same way i did listening to really love?”

Harmony Holiday contemplates his hobbling, harrowing journey through the recording industry and his destiny “And you and Prince both demanded unreasonable perfection from the body, suffered for that resonance, and were refused a future perfect in the end, taken from this purgatorial grift of a planet just when you might have been released from the tyranny of labels and contracts and left in the true messiah role to trouble their blunt saturnine standards. That’s the sparrow’s incontrovertible flight pattern, the virility of evil plans, the liberated minstrel turned minister gone rogue into quicksand.”

What special memories does D’Angelo hold for you? How will you remember him? I’d love to know. Please share below.

Ello you,

How’s things? I am still chasing my dog’s tail while dealing with death admin and the grief of it all. Meanwhile, Winter is coming in fast and there I am being yanked around a soggy London park at 7.30am in shorts and sodden shoes. A man at odds with the world and out of season.

On Friday, I returned to Dad’s place to continue the clearout and was overwhelmed by an avalanche of food tubs, plastic bags, ancient tissues, compression stockings, mobility equipment… I can’t be the only one who stands there in such moments, paralysed by the enormity of the task ahead and wishing you could just f*ck it all off and run away.

It feels like a punishment, to be honest. Then you stumble on a handwritten card to your absent father from their neighbours’ kids, saying, “We made you a rainbow for your window. We hope it makes you smile.”

Or their YMCA card featuring that (rare) smile above the words “Positive Placements Mentor” (the first I’d heard of it). Or a note with the word “Antidisestablishmentarianism” scrawled on it because… Why?

I wonder what other curios I’ll find in all his clutter and what they will trigger?

In the midst of my ennui [the struggle feels more gallant en français], doing live radio might have felt like a chore. And in the early stages, it often is. Trying to reflect my world in sound over the past month, gathering unusual music that feels meaningful to me and presenting it in a personal way. On air and in words.

But into the second hour of this meandering and introspective show, I began to feel calmer and more present. Out to Alyssa for the encouragement in the studio. Perhaps these two hours will offer you a release of some kind. Come along.

I am hoping to have a few quests in the upcoming months, including artist feeo (see below) and a special on the club night I used to help run in Brighton. We must document these rights of passage. They are our culture.

In other news, I’m planning a hike around Snowdon with my best mate and the little monster, and a youth music project in Lewisham featuring a few local legends. More on all that soon.

👋🏾

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO/ALVA NOTO – The Sheltering Sky (Alva Noto Remodel) [Milan]

Let’s reset the room with a gently sweeping, chiming tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto by collaborator Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai). A cover of the great man’s theme to Bertolucci’s 1990 film of the same name. Sakamoto san is never far from my thoughts. A guiding spirit who was a humble and devoted artist that embraced change and evolved through time. To The Moon & Back, a compilation from a few years ago, also features interpretations by David Sylvian, Thundercat, Cinematic Orchestra, Fennesz…

JOHN MARTYN & DANNY THOMPSON – Solid Air (Transatlantic Sessions) [Iona] [4m 57s]

It was through John Martyn’s music that I first heard Danny Thompson – this track, in fact – and he almost stole the show. I was transfixed by his expressive bass playing. The virtuoso, who worked with Kate Bush, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake and Toumani Diabate among countless others, passed recently and I wanted to pay tribute with a few selections.

This rendition of a Martyn standard was captured as part of a BBC Scotland programme called the Transatlantic Sessions. There were two series but only the second resulted in music being released. ‘Solid Air’ isn’t on either of those CDs – but it’s out there on film. Watch the chemistry rekindled between two old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years after a fallout. A poignant reconciliation happening before our eyes at the Montgreenan Mansion House Hotel in Kilwinning, Ayrshire.

Thompson described this as the most satisfying musical moment of his career and John as his most important collaborator. “If John Martyn had been the only person that I worked with, it would have given me everything out of music that I could ever want.” 💜

Danny was also a geezer, who had stories for days.

PENTANGLE – Reflection (live) [11m 38s]

As insidious as Google can be with its all-seeing eye, the behemoth did give us YouTube and the platform continues to unearth gems that have me time-travelling wide-eyed in the middle of the night.

While searching for Danny Thompson, I came across this 1972 Belgian TV special with Pentangle, one of his first bands. What a mighty intro. No wonder several of his bandmates are grinning along. Pentangle’s fusion of folk, jazz, blues and rock remains unique and unmatched on these shores.

The five points of light were Thompson on bass, Terry Cox on drums, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn on guitars and Jacqui McShee on vocals. Her phrasing is so beguiling. Not too familiar with Pentangle? Then start with their 1969 album Basket of Light.

DANNY THOMPSON – Minor Escapade [Hannibal] [23m 45s]

Between 1987 and 2012, Thompson also recorded six solo albums. This is my pick from his 1987 release Whatever, featuring Tony Roberts on reeds and Bernie Holland on guitar.

BIZIMUNGU DIEUDONNE – Inyange Ibarusha Kwera [Mississippi] [29m 02s]

Vintage tape vibes out of 80’s Rwanda here. Bizimungu Dieudonne with wife Agnes Umbibizi plus family and friends. Praise songs and extended electric jams sit comfortably alongside one another on Inzovu Y’Imirindi.

The story behind this release is tinged with sadness as everyone on the record lost their lives during the genocide and because of the savagery of the Hutu militia. But Bizimungu and Agnes’ daughter Noella was left with one treasured artefact – the masters for this album.

Out to Mississippi Records for the cultural preservation and celebration.

TOM SKINNER – The Maxim (featuring Meshell Ndegeocello) [Brownswood] [36m 50s]

The Smile, Sons of Kemet, Wildflower, Hello Skinny, Owini Sigoma Band… How many projects and guises can you squeeze into one still fresh-faced career? Kaleidoscopic Visions, the second album under his own name, sees Tom Skinner reflecting on his journey thus far and finding interesting passages down the way. Coming along on this expedition are Tom Herbert on bass, Chelsea Carmichael on tenor sax and flute and Kareem Dayes on cello.

I share his adoration for Meshell Ndegeocello, a collaborator on this track who he first encountered at Glastonbury in 1994. Now his friend and the artist I have seen more than any other in my life. “The Maxim is a 10-minute meditation on time,” Skinner tells us. “An incantation and exploration of human existence ­– addressing birth, life and death in one breath.”

You can feel that depth of inquiry between the notes as they loop around us in a gentle spiral. I recommend watching the accompanying video by Sam Blair, which is constructed from Super 8 footage shot by Skinner’s grandfather around the UK and California in the 1960s and 1970s.

Blair intuited the significance of ‘The Maxim’, saying, “There was a sense of Tom crossing a personal and musical threshold. ‘The Maxim’ itself is so ambitious and sweeping as a piece of music, so delicate and defiant and rich with meaning, I didn’t dare to make a literal interpretation of it, but instead we made a video that’s in a kind of parallel dance with the track.”

FEEO – Requiem [AD93] [45m 10s]

FEEO – Here [AD93] [51m 23s]

Sam Akpro, who I did a special with earlier in the year, put me on to feeo, one of the featured artists on his debut Evenfall. The experimental singer-songwriter and producer has followed up her 2024 EP Run Over with an audacious album called Goodness, which brings together elements of the organic, electronic, ambient and drone.

The result is a very intricate and elusive body of work, its beauty lying far beyond surface consumption. A bold move for a debut solo album. In feeo’s words, it’s “an exploration of simultaneous yet opposing states of being: darkness and lightness, obscurity and visibility and most fundamentally, solitude and togetherness.”

Goodness was mixed by feeo, who also created the artwork. A truly personal offering. I need the lyric sheets – words to be unravelled.

feeo plays Café Oto on 10 October. If her state51 set is anything to go by, that one will be very live and in the moment.

JAY ELECTRONICA – Letter to Mars [Roc Nation] [58m 32s]

From A Written Testimony: Mars, The Inhabited Planet, this is my pick of the flurry of unreleased music shared by the enigmatic Jay Electronica. A poetic monologue over a beatless mood piece, where we can appreciate his mic control and imperious diction. Three albums dropped in seven days or whatever. Is it Christmas already?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP – XX [Be With] [1m 3m 10s]

Thanks to Rob at Be With for sending this over at the 11th hour. Diggers and collectors will know this label for reissuing in-demand yet hard-to-get albums across the sound spectrum, from Ian Carr with Nucleus to Bahamadia and Lewis Taylor. Immaculate too.

Here is the first-ever vinyl pressing of a twanging instrumentals cassette tape by Thought Leadership. I can see the waves rolling up to the shore as the sun takes its sweet time to set. Coming on 14 November but you can pre-order now. A limited run of 300.

RN HARRIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BAND – Portrait of Tracy [1h 7m 00s]

I approach Instagram browsing with caution and usually bounce within five minutes or so. But thanks to my friend Miguel, who swears he’s barely on there, I found out about the RN Harris Elementary School Band, directed by a teacher called Tim Lorelli, in Durham, North Carolina.

Joyous, beautiful, often very heavy covers of hip-hop tracks and sample sources. Erykah Badu’s ‘The Healer’ and De La Soul’s ‘Stakes Is High’ come to mind. Check out the archive and donate to keep these lessons bangin’ out across the world and putting instruments in young hands.

KEIYAA – Take It [XL] [1h 8m 35s]

Playing this one for anyone who owns Forever, Ya Girl – a life preserver from 2020 and a modern classic that I’ve been falling in love with all over again. Let’s call it homework in preparation for KeiyaA’s next album. “Hooke’s Law is the spiral of life,” says the Chicago artist. “This is about being. This is about all my parts coexisting together in harmony … this is an invitation to repeat, fail and start again.”

What can we expect? Something more rhymically dynamic, unpredictable and combustible on the evidence of tracks like ‘Take It’. Join us for group therapy and sound bathing on 13 November in London at Corsica Studios, which will soon be no more (in its current form, anyway).

ANAIIS – Call Me (a)(B) [5dB] [1h 14m 20s]

Anaiis’ new album Devotion & The Black Divine has arrived and it feels like a warm embrace and an honest heart-to-heart. She’s in conversation with us and the world through this music. I love the flow, the interludes, the other voices that float in and out of the mix. I could have chosen any of the tracks but went with the curious title ‘Call Me (a)(B)’.

DEMAE – Closer [FAMM] [1h 20m 10s]

From a AA side by one of London’s best songwriters and fly individuals, here is Demae with ‘Closer.’ Check the visuals on YouTube. Art direction is always A1. All part of the experience. Time to give that Madlib mixtape another blast.

DWELE – Find Me, Beep Me [1h 24m 15s]

I swear I had this on record somewhere but can’t find it. Big up Simon see for bringing this vintage Dwele back into my life on a compilation of low-key releases by Dwele, put together by BamaLoveSoul. That MySpace shoutout got me in my feels. We had a good time circa 2006. I didn’t find my daddy on there but I do remember chatting to Maxwell, A&R’ing a compilation through it… Who was in your top eight then?

WALLY BADAROU – The Daiquiri Diaries (Vintage Extended) [Diskotopia] [1h 27m 25s]

From the Unnamed Trilogy of previously unreleased solo work, this is the synth mystic Wally Badarou, who’s played on important records by Grace Jones, Talking Heads, Fela Kuti, Level 42 and Robert Palmer. The new sensations he manages to create with his instruments and patches – some intense, others subtle – are remarkable. This one emerged in 2017 but is evergreen. What a decadent title: ‘The Daquiri Diaries (Vintage Extended)’. His Red Bull Music Academy lecture is worth a (re)watch.

SPIRITS REJOICE – Confusions [Frederiksberg] [1h 32m 40s]

Vibrant jazz fusion out of South Africa, salvaged from the 1970s. If you like your horns leading the dance, then this one’s for you. Frederiksberg released this in 2023 but it was a recent discovery of mine, probably through a mailout by the always dependable Rush Hour. There’s a hefty crew in session on ‘Confusions’ and I must shout out a few musicians in particular, including Duke Makasi on tenor and soprano sax, Robbie Jansen on alto sax, Sipho Gumede on bass and Gilbert Matthews on drums. Go see what else they have played on.

BRAINTICKET – Places of Light [Above Board Projects] [1h 38m 54s]

One of the more obscure tracks from the Optimo 25 compilation, which marked a quarter of a century of the anything-goes night in Glasgow’s Sub Club, started in 1997 by the late JD Twitch and Jonny Wilkes. We lost Keith (JD) recently and the outpouring of love and respect was very touching.

Lauren Martin, writing for The Guardian, got to the crux of his divine talent. DJ Magazine collected tributes and recollections from friends such as Tim Sweeney who said “There was no ego, only service to the music and the people making it.”

And Philip Sherburne, who writes Futurism Restated on here, has done God’s work by compiling a spectacular list of JD mixes. There’s also a post-punk special of his on NTS that’s compulsory for fans of 23 Skidoo, Maximum Joy and many of their contemporaries you might not know.

Optimo were incomparable in how they could pull together the punk, funk, electro and slightly weird, blowing dance music wide open. And Keith, mix after mix, revolutionised what a DJ could be and get away with. I never made it to Optimo but author Stef Macbeth, a friend of the show, has regaled me with a few stories, proudly wearing his “No DFA without Optimo” T-shirt at a recent book launch.

But back to Brainticket and ‘Places of Light’, a groove-heavy, hallucinogenic dose of krautrock, which you can find on an album called Cottonwoodhill from 1971. Lots of panned flute and ominous incantations over a tuff rhythm section. File under trippy (well, the cover says it all).

2000BLACK – Constant Disappointment [2000Black] [1h 43m 10s]

Seeing us down the home straight is the ever-reliable 2000Black. Chief rocka Dego, Kaidi Tatham and co blessing us with that raw jazz-boogie-house-sumthin outta London Town. The album is called 27 and features 4Hero family Lady Alma on a track. LOL title. I feel you, Dego.

PRIMAL SCREAM – Circus of Life (A JD Twitch Remix) [BMG] [1h 47m 38s]

Another one for JD Twitch who I first came to through his remixes. It wasn’t this one but his twist on ‘Circus of Life’, from Primal Scream’s 12th studio album Come Ahead, is the essence of the man. A cosmic, chugging wig out that will breathe new life into you.

MARK DE CLIVE-LOWE – Control [Be With] [1h 55h 50s]

Mark is one of the hardest-working musicians out there. I know, because I receive his regular mailouts, which are stacked with gigs and studio collaborations like this one with Shigeto and my girl, Melanie Charles.

He’s an intrepid New Zealander who became part of the extended West London family in the early 2000s, when genres such as broken beat and future jazz were taking shape and mutating night after night. It was a fluid mindset Mark adopted and carried forward. Here he is with Bembe Segue and Tawiah refixing one of his best contributions to the scene, ‘Relax (Unwind)’ in 2007.

I probably first met ‘Mashi’ at the weekly live session Jazz Re:freshed on Portabello Rd (now at Ninety One Living Room). His debut album came my way while working at Straight No Chaser magazine, which was like a fanzine for so much of this music here and abroad, especially before the Internet and social media.

Six Degrees is an audio travelogue or sonic diary of Mark’s year abroad in 1998. Soaking up the Afro-Cuban rhythms of Havana, the jazz heritage of New York, crate-digging in San Francisco, getting busy in London studios and basement clubs. A musical awakening, that’s for sure. MPC2000, Fender Rhodes and synths in hand, he paid homage to forebears such as Lonnie Liston Smith and The Mizell Brothers while speculating on the shape of things to come.

Listening now, 25 years later, this music still sounds so fresh, fizzing out of the liminal spaces between house, hip-hop, jazz, and bruk. ‘Control’ owes a small debt to the angular jungle and drum’n’bass spun by Grooverider and Jumpin Jack Frost in the smoky darkness of places like Rage.

Another limited edition reissue from Be With. Be quick.

Hello friends,

It’s almost knitwear season in the UK. Let’s look to the positives, eh.

Can I play you some music?

This was partly recorded live in the SE London studios of Sister Midnight FM, before my pup cut the broadcast. Naughty boy.

But ‘mixtape’ is part of the ML concept, so we pivoted in the aftermath.

Please let me know what you’re into!

✌🏾

MAL WALDRON – Candy Girl [Strut]

Those familiar with the Mal Waldron of late 50’s hard bop or the modal compositions recorded later in Japan might be taken aback by the volatility of this curio, recorded during his self-imposed exile in Paris after a debilitating breakdown. I read it was so bad that he had to teach himself how to play piano again.

Originally a super-limited release on the Calumet label, Candy Girl was recorded spontaneously in the studio of French producer Pierre Jaubert with members of the Lafayette Afro Rock band. Bassist Lafayette Hudson, drummer Donny Donable, and keyboardist Frank Abel on clavinet, Moog and more.

In a spritely set, it’s the title track that has stayed with me. A minor key wander by Waldron on electric piano. Look out for the vinyl dropping this week on Strut Records. For more electric Mal, try The Call.

DANIEL ODUNTAN – Kilohertz – Variations on a Constant Madness [06m 25s]

Over the past decade and more, Daniel has been incubating his idea to depict the changing face of Southwark in SE London through audio and visuals. Encountering lots of speed bumps and roadblocks along the way. What started as a photographic study has expanded into an ensemble.

The project is called Soul Complex Unfinished and I think this recording was from the session I attended in Peckham a while back. We had studio don Sean Montgomery Dietz on bass, Deronne White on Flute, man like Ashley Henry on them keys and Daniel on modular synthesiser, drums and bass. Phew.

And the process continues to unfold. Daniel will be having an open rehearsal on Friday 12 September from 7pm at Reference Point off The Strand. Joining him will be frequent collaborator Roxanne Tataei and Jerald Coop Cooper of Hood Century. A space to think aloud, explore the black mundane and respond to the moment. Come be part of a living archive.

PINO PALLADINO & BLAKE MILLS – Heat Sink [Impulse!] [14m 40s]

Bass daddy Pino Palladino and California guitarist-engineer Blake Mills follow up 2021’s Notes With Attachments with That Wasn't A Dream. Their goal on this one was to develop sparser arrangements, punctuated by Mills' prototype fretless baritone sustainer guitar. Time just comes and goes during this track. One to meditate on.

SARATHY KORWAR – We Take Things For Granted [Otherland] [23m 50s]

From There is Beauty, There Already, which drops on 7/11 on his own new imprint Otherland, this is Sarathy Korwar in reset mode. After four far-reaching albums, he’s attempting to find his voice again as a composer through live drums and percussion. Tabla, South Indian clay pot ghatam…

With only a smattering of human voices and electronics through the 70’s Buchla Easel. It’s got me thinking of unique records such as the Don Cherry and Latif Khan collaboration Music / Sangam.

An album for deep listening as Pauline Oliveros implored us to do. One to inhabit from beginning to end for sure, no skips, noticing different variations each time.

Catch him during the London Jazz Festival on 15 November at the ICA.

THEON CROSS – Wings (live at Blue Note New York) [New Soil][27m 15s]

I had a very wholesome evening in one of my local places of worship, St Lawrence Church, Catford, watching tuba player and composer Theon Cross and Rosie Turton playing at the Jazz Hang alongside prodigious members of Lewisham Music Jazz Band, Pulse of the Planet (Prendergast Ladywell School) and Trinity Laban Jazz Ensemble.

Proof, if any were needed, why it’s so important to support schemes like this to get instruments in the hands of the youth and collaborating with one another as well as graduates like Theon. Respect to Tomorrows Warriors as well for the mentorship they offer. Each one teach one.

This is Theon and band letting fly on his debut at Blue Note in NYC. A heavyweight rib tickler.

VENNA – Prophet [Cashmere Thoughts][34m 25s]

Debut album from composer, saxophonist, vocalist Venna. I love how he’s patiently been honing his craft, drip-feeding us with transcendent releases like ‘Prophet’.

Being very clear about what he wants to say and how he wants to present his art, from his choice of collaborators (rhythm section Yussef Dayes and Rocco Palladino) to the travelogue videos that are like lo-fi odysseys. There’s romance to his sound – not the meet-cute kind, more in the sense of a divine connection to place and time.

“Every experience, every memory, every conversation, anything new, any encounter has influenced how this album sounds,” Venna says.

Debut album coming on 5 September.

TRES LECHES – Telescope [Brainfeeder][39m 10s]

On first listen, this album of smooth Haitus Kaiyote covers may veer dangerously close to easy listening elevator music but there’s something about its utilitarian origins and off-the-cuff aesthetic that charms me.

Recorded in hotel and green rooms on tour by HK members Paul Bender and Simon Mavin together with ComputerJay, it was envisioned as a soundtrack to an imaginary supermarket for the band’s Love Heart Cheat Code. This is my pick. Breezy.

OFFICER JOHN – Stay [Wah Wah Wino][42m 30s]

Love and respect to Do You’s Charlie Bones for introducing Officer John to me. They did a lovely live session in his Hackney HQ, which you should listen back to. CB always manages to create a communal experience across the internet.

This is called ‘Stay’, taken from a five-track 12”, which includes a remix from Morgan Buckley. Coming in Autumn ’25. ‘Handle’ has also been on loop. One for all you daydream believers.

SILVER APPLES – Lovefingers [Jackpot][45m 15s]

For an album so foundational to electronic music, one that predates Krautrock and all of that, I don’t hear much about Silver Apples. The 60’s duo of Simeon Coxe III on synth and drummer Danny Taylor. Experimental, psychedelic yet open to all. Someone used the word “fantasia” to describe the mood and I’m with it. Jackpot Records have released a limited-edition vinyl. Smoke-coloured, of course.

LADY BLACKBIRD VS CROOKED MAN – When The Game is Played on You [Foundation Music][49m 05s]

Crooked Man Richard Barratt follows up that loping remix for Cymande with this hi-tension flip for Lady Blackbird. Playing this one for the chief, Ross Allen. Owner of two of the best ears in the business. As he says, Crooked Man has a way of taking originals to a different place, into the deep. Have a listen to the Lady’s album Slang Spirituals. It’s got divine power.

LEON VYNEHALL – Scab (featuring Tyson) [Ooze Inc][54m 50s]

New one from Leon inna likkle dancehall situation, with Tyson guesting on the vocals. She’s really growing as a songwriter and always picks great collaborators. Leon’s next album In Daytona Yellow is coming on 19 September. Jeshi is among the other guests on there.

Look out for Tyson also guesting on the Verses GT release that LuckyMe are putting out soon.

JAMES MASSIAH MEETS LORD TUSK – Might Be The One (Version) [Accidental Meetings][1h 00m 40s]

Lord Tusk and James Massiah join forces again after last year’s ‘Open Up’. One for the steppers who like to hang by the speaker stacks and get fried by frequencies. Some limited-edition black 7s are still available. Click the title above and head to Bandcamp.

DIJON – Yamaha [Warner][1h 04m 45s]

Ah, the rush. How much ecstasy can you pack into one tune? Dijon on some early 80’s Prince flex. My guy. New album Baby is waiting for you, exploding with big feels. Mk.gee is on co-writing and co-producing duties. Repeat after me: we deserve nice things.

I like this comment from Dijon about their collaboration last September. “We were both trying to just find a new wheel to invent, separately, and kind of questioning why nobody else was as feverishly, or embarrassingly, reaching. Then we were both like, let’s see how far we can push each other.”

Their performance of ‘Big Mike’s’ in the living room during the Absolutely film is still giving me life. Pino Palladino, who we played earlier, is also on ‘Baby’.

Can you spot the sample? Laurie Anderson, come on. Apparently, Cara Delevigne helped write this track. Trivia.

EARL SWEATSHIRT – Crisco [Warner][1h 10m 00s]

Older, wiser but still throwing lyrical curveballs, Earl is in relative domestic bliss as a father of two and isn’t afraid to rap about.

That‘s not to say he shuns difficult topics. On ‘Crisco’, he mentions his “kinda janky” pops and the replacement who “beat the failure out of me”. Traumatic experiences have compelled him to do better as a parent. Seeking “sacred knowledge 8 of cups, it's time to change his stanky diapers”.

Much of the discourse around Live, Laugh, Love oscillates between ‘I’m happy Earl is happy’ and ‘Sad Earl is way more interesting’. Harmony Holiday, one of the most important voices on black music and culture right now, blew the album right open for me, contending with the expectation placed on rap idols – by us and themselves – sensing confliction in the reformed good father with the “brittle embryo spirit”. Someone who is perhaps too eager for salvation… It’s a cautionary tale. How fragile and fleeting contentment can be.

Sonically, this track is a standout. Navy Blue, a superb MC himself, is on the beat, filtering the hell out of it so the track sluices between our ears.

VENNA – Misty (featuring Knucks) [Hillside][1h 12m 35s]

Some vintage Venna, why not? I’m still bangin’ this collaboration with Knucks and love rolling through London town on the 171 as I “stay mindin’ my damn business”.

JACK HERRERA – City Lights[1h 16m 10s]

I was listening to Ayo Edibiri’s NTS show the other day while cooking and this smooth-ass tune started making my fingers snap. A bit of Raphael Saadiq, a bit of Rahsaan Patterson, you know. What is that? I thought.

I checked the tracklist and it said Jack Herrera. Who’s he? Turns out it’s a they. It was a ‘they’. Here’s the 411 according to Confessions of a Curly Mind: “While touring for Jon B’s album Cool Relax (1997) in Amsterdam with back up vocalists DominiQuinn & Silky Deluxe, the three of them basically composed most of the music on the tourbus (which came equipped with a fully built studio).

“I assume they hit the studio to polish up and finish off the complete album Retro Futuristico soon after, probably over the course of 1998-99. But the album never saw an official release.”

Not sure why… But I’m duty-bound to spread the legend of Jack Herrera. Soul on ice.

JAMIE WOON – Heavy Going [Also Can][1h 21m 20s]

Jamie Woon is synonymous with my time in London, going back to the early 2000s. Soon after my arrival, I remember receiving a promo of his spine-tingling version of ‘Wayfaring Stranger’, which Burial remixed in 2007. I recall the OneTaste nights at the Bedford and how a community of musicians formed around that session in Balham.

How ‘Sharpness’ from the second album Making Time (2016) had everyone hooked to its sophisticated, precise yet soulful groove, including Pharrell. I caned that live version performed at Konk studios.

Rejoice because Jamie’s back with new music. Such a talented songwriter and his voice always earns my attention. His truthfulness and sincerity coming through once again on ‘Heavy Going’.

The album 3 10 Why When will follow on 3 October. His Union Chapel gig is sold out but you can catch him at the Rough Trade East in-store on 7 October.

RADIOHEAD – The Gloaming (live) [XL][1h 25m 45s]

I had to include this one for Colin Greenwood’s bassline alone. You can find it on a recent collection of The Hail to the Thief live recordings. The album features performances of songs in London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and Dublin between 2003 and 2009.

What we might have lost in glitchy, crackling electronics, we gain in some serious bottom end. Can you feel it coming through your speakers or phones? The album is mixed by Ben Baptie and mastered by Matt Colton. Invigorating.

LUISA – Lenha na Foguiera [Far Out][1h 30m 35s]

Reissued for the first time on 7” by Far Out is this Brasilian artefact recorded by Luisa, backed by the mighty Azymuth who were on everyone’s records around 1981. ‘Lenha na Fogueira’ is the title, apparently a Portuguese expression equivalent to 'fan the flames' or 'to make a bad situation worse’. That’s guitarist Paulinho Guitarra on guitar and Arco Iris on backing vocals.

HUSSAIN BOKHARI ­– There’s Your Baby [Mood Hut][1h 33m 23s]

Born in Bangkok and raised in Vancouver, Bokhari has assembled his many formative memories, musings and musical interests into an intimate DIY bedroom set that feels much bigger than the work of just one artist. It contains multitudes of a man.

Possessions reminded me of the kind of obscure, dubbed-out soul and disco that a Music From Memory might dig up (Geoffrey Landers, for instance). But at different points, we also get echoes of the meandering of Durutti Column, the love language of Womack & Womack, the crumbled vulnerability of a Benny Sings.

I adore the way the feel of this album is described: “This is music for the spaces between – between cities, between eras, between yourself and the person you were, all held together by a minimalist studio setup and maximum heart approach.”

FOREIGNER – Désintégation [Livity Sound][1h 36m 36s]

Four equally strong, tense and kinetic productions on Foreigner’s EP for Livity Sounds. Made by Willis Anne. who is founder of record label and club night LAN in Naarm, Melbourne. I’ve gone with the heightened drama of ‘Désintégation’.

LAUREL HALO – Focus I [Honest Jon’s][1h 42m 00s]

I wish I could remember who was running through their favourite home listening albums on IG when this early release from Laurel Halo on Honest Jon’s stopped me mid-munch of my granola one morning.

I love the space and introspection of more recent work like Atlas but the pulse and the keys on ‘Focus I’ will make you take flight. Dig into the back catalogues, people. It’s fascinating to hear the changes artists go through.

KUNIYUKI TAKAHASHI – Ananda Project/GaelleCascades of Colour (Kuniyuki’s Sugar Love Mix) [Mule Musiq][1h 50m 00s]

Kuniyuki Takahashi’s debut album came out in 2006 on CD only. Almost two decades later, We Are Together is getting a vinyl release. Congratulations to Toshiya san and Mule Musiq on hitting 300 releases. This one got me thinking of autumn leaves as they begin to fall and the wind picks up. Mood.

KAYTRANADA – Do It! (Again!) (featuring TLC) [RCA][1h 57m 45s]

An all-instrumentals album from Kaytranada with that familiar bounce and kick to make the club bop. Although you can hear R&B queens TLC on the set here with a sample of ‘Let’s Do It Again’. Out to all my CrazySexyCool kids. Left Eye, miss ya.

He also draws from artists including Tangerine Dream, Dilla and Kelis with The Neptunes. Press play to get a shot in the arm on the commute to work.

NATURE BOY – Bassline Jumper [Frame of Mind][2h 01m 08s]

In 2017, Frame Of Mind started this series with the reissue of Nature Boy's seminal Ruff Disco Volume One double album from 1992. Now they’re back with special tracks unearthed from floppy disks from that same era. The EP is called Unfinished Business. Raw and very heavy as we’ve come to expect from Milo Johnson aka DJ Nature.

MAD REY – No Return (dub mix) [Red Lebanese/D.KO][2h 06m 45s]

A likkle something I had in my folder. A selection from Mad Rey’s productions recorded between 2023 and 2024. Dubbed out where the disco meets the house.

MICHAEL J BLOOD – Get Up Tonite[2h 10m 00s]

Always keep a little Michael J Blood in your diet to ward off the arthritis … and the demons. His hit rate is ridiculous. You can find this one in the collection Achetypal Artefacts Volume 2.

GILES SMITH – Paolo’s Keys [Eglo][2h 13m 55s]

Classy productions from Giles, one half of Secretsundaze. I was very tempted to play the dub of ‘I Can Change Your Life’ featuring LaAriel but the keys on this one got me mesmerised. Paolo’s to be precise ;)

PHASE II – Reachin’ (NY Mix) [Movin’][2h 20m 00s]

A Shoom and basement classic from the New Jersey skate-shop-cum record store, released in 1988. It felt so good to hear this come on randomly in the sun the other day. Phase II comprises New Jersey club legends Blaze (Josh Milan, Kevin Hedge and Chris Herbert), plus Sean Sims, Kerry Washington and Jerry Edwards. I think this is Rheji Burrell’s mix. If you see anything from the Burrell Brothers, buy on site. Nu Groove stans, salute.

HIEROGLYPHIC BEING – The Sound of Something Ending [Mathematics][2h 24m 55s]

This is Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being – who else? – with a pulsating five minutes of interstellar techno. From the soundbook “SOMUCHNOISE2BEHEARD”. I love the title. Apt for a track that sounds so climactic, like a planet incinerating into shooting stars that become new celestial bodies.

KYOKO KOIZUMI – Microwave [Rush Hour][2h 29m 30s]

Watch the ride! Ondas record shop owner Dubby and Rush Hour’s Antal trawl the pop-meets-proto-techno period of the late 70s into the 80s. The influence of Kraftwerk, futuristic drums and synths on the disciples of YMO and others. It’s a super-fun compilation. Vinyl only. This one by Kyoko Koizumi is telling all the ears-bleeding, 7am sadists to lighten up. It comes from the album Koizumi in the House. Out of this world … and tuff.

JUNIE MORRISON – Musical Son (live) [ReGrooved][2h 35m 20s]

I was wondering if one of my favorite funk mavericks had recorded any live sets. It turns out he and The Scoon Boogie Band were committed to tape while playing multiple nights at Dooley’s in Lansing, Michigan in 1975.

The audio resonates with the antiquated charm of a bootleg, shall we say, but when there’s an Ohio Players medley on the table (including the anthem ‘Ecstasy’), you mustn’t complain too much.

“The horns, we gotta hear horns,” Junie yells on ‘Musical Son’. Too right.

*****

Check out the archive via Mixcloud or my Substack to hear past shows including a chat about 90’s rave and coming of age in a youth club with debut author Stef Macbeth. Also, words and music from SE London musician Sam Akpro. Yeah, nuff shows.

Until Monday 29/9. Stay close.